Tag Archives: Wesley Sneijder

Most people here in the United States would rather have a colonoscopy administered with a cactus branch dipped in Ass Reaper Hot Sauce than watch a world cup match.

Spain

In fact, it is the usually divisive figure of one Glenn Beck who has clearly articulated the how the American (I mean, I guess one should not say American as if the U.S. speaks for Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil- and so on) but anywhoo) how citizens of the USA feel about the World Cup when he said recently:

“It doesn’t matter how you try to sell it to us. It dies not matter how many celebrities you get. It does not matter how many bars open early. It does not matter how many beer commercials they run. We don’t WANT the World Cup. We don’t like the World Cup. We don’t like Soccer. We want nothing to do with it!”

True, because FUTBOL, it turns out, is un-American. Which is one reason, I suppose, that I love it so much.

“The thing about Soccer is I hate it so much probably because the rest of the world likes it so much”

That “I hate it so much probably because the rest of the world likes it so much” is a by-product of a resurgence in the idea of American exceptionalism, itself the offspring of the idea of Manifest Destiny.

I like to call it Manifest Destiny’s Child. *

A quick tangential history lesson is needed here (from the introduction of my forthcoming documentary):

In June of 1846 what we now know as California was part of the sovereign nation of Mexico. On July 7 1846, California was annexed to the United States of America. Annexed is a cute little term to throw on civic exams so not to upset youngsters too much about the blood on the hands of their ancestors. It means, quite simply, that American settlers can (and did) say, “I’m bigger than you, I’m stronger than you, I’ve got more gun powder than you, and if that ain’t enough I’ve got God on my side. I’ve got manifest destiny.” It means, moreover, that those same American Settlers could say to the Mexicans, who (bye the bye) were residing on their own land, California, in 1846, something like: “Excuse me Cesar or, Excuse me, Esmeralda: We are going to give you two choices. One: We learned a lot about rape and murder during our genocide of the Native Americans. We can demonstrate that knowledge to you can and soak the land of this beautiful oceanfront real estate with the blood of your people or, B: just run along south of the border and then wait a couple of generations, have some kids, and then send them back here and we will put them to work in construction and the lawn care maintenance industry, and some of the best fine dining establishments this country has to offer (in the back of the house, of course). So, will it be door number one, or door number two? What say you?”

This “American can do” attitude that begets murder, occupation and colonization in the name of divinely ordained American destiny and exceptionalism continues today in the preemptive strategy of American imperialism abroad implemented by both Bush and Obama; an arrogant, blowback inducing foreign policy that, in the post nuclear age, is doing nothing less than expediting the end of the world as we know it.

This, in a nutshell, is MANIFEST DESTINY’S CHILD. *

So perhaps, my fellow Americans, uh- I mean, fellow citizens of the U.S.A., we should start finding some common ground with the rest of the developed world. Healthcare for all? Not for you USA? Okay, uh… A foreign policy that did not expand upon the Bush Doctrine? No, you’d rather be the colonizer and police force of the world. Well, it is hard to argue with you gringo, GOD is on your side, after all.

If nothing else, how about you walk into your neighborhood pub Sunday afternoon, order yourself a Cervaza and join the rest of the world in watching the most exciting sporting event on the globe?

* MANIFEST DESTINY’S CHILD is not only a catchy phrase that will sweep the nation and the world, as the title of my first feature length documentary, available in September 2010, it is also a shameless bit of self promotion.

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A freelance writer, Davis Fleetwood has worked as a writer/ media consultant for Dennis Kucinich’s 2008 presidential campaign and served as a contributing editorial commentator for The Uptake. His videos have been seen by over 14 million viewers. He has been called (among many other things) “one of the most prominent voices in YouTube politics.” (-You Tube News & Politics chief, Steve Grove) He was a “Best of YouTube, 2007” nomination. His book DROPPIN’ KNOWLEDGE LIKE A CLUMSY LIBRARIAN, is now available from No Cure For That Press, and his first full length feature documentary, MANIFEST DESTINY’S CHILD, is due out on DVD this June.

THE HERMIT WITH DAVIS FLEETWOOD is a sometimes serious, sometimes satiric look at the top headlines, current events, and political trends. The show is Independently produced by a staff of one & runs on the fuel of your individual donations.